RAIPUR: The Chhattisgarh High Court on Wednesday directed banks to ensure the charges levied by them on multiple transactions and the other services they offer to the customers be "uniform and reasonable". A division bench comprising of Chief Justice Ajay Kumar Tripathi and Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra issued the order on a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by an advocate Saleem Kazi.
Kazi challenged the notifications issued by various banks on transaction charges and the minimum Monthly Average Balance (MAB) in the bank accounts. The court though didn't comment on the minimum MAB.
"The court affirmed that there should be uniformity and reasonableness in the charges raised by the banks. We have cited about the wide disparity in the charges imposed by different banks to their customers. Earlier the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has filed its response to the court stating that the banks do not need its approval for imposing charges on their customers", Kazi told the Express.
In September last year, the high court has issued notices to the central government, RBI, SBI, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Ltd, HDFC Bank Ltd on the PIL. The petitioner had contended that the instructions issued by the respondent banks and the actions initiated by them are in serious violation of the RBI Act 1934 on banking regulations and further violates the Constitutional rights granted under the Article 19 (1)g, Article 21 and Article 300A. The high court based in Bilaspur disposed of the PIL on Wednesday.